We have an exciting line up of teachers coming to CSF 2026!
Felipe Braga (he/him) and Steph O’Connor (she/her)
We are super excited to welcome these two to CSF 2026 all the way from Berlin – giving up some of their time during a family holiday to share their love of lindy hop and jazz with us all.
Felipe grew up in an environment where music, dance, and rhythms are a part of everyday life. Spending most of his youth in music studios, theatre productions and performing absurd theatre sketches in a local theater in his hometown in Brazil, Felipe only encountered Swing Dancing when he moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to study film making. Feeling drawn to Jazz Music and the beauty of the social dance culture, Felipe’s pursuit in the Jazz Dances took him to the biggest dance camps and competitions around the world. There he would learn more about the origins and history of this culture that had captivated him. In the next few years, he has established himself as an avid performer and instructor, sharing his passion and love for Jazz history, music and dance at some of the world’s biggest swing dance festivals such as Swing it Berlin!, La Jam Barcelona and Herrang Dance Camp amongst many more.
Some of our long-timers will recognise Steph’s name, as she’s is a talented local dancer and teacher from way back – originally hailing from Tamaki Makaurau, she used to teach lindy hop and solo jazz with Swingout Central since 2010 (or earlier. She is currently based in Berlin, Germany, and we are super excited to welcome her back to Aotearoa to share all the things she has learned dancing around Europe since then! Steph strives to participate in the folk art of the lindy hop within jazz with respect, reverence and humility.
Check out this video of Steph and Felipe dancing their ILHC winning routine from a few year’s back..
Nial Bruce (he/him) and Vivian Cantera (they/them)
So we’re doing something a bit different (and super exciting) for this CSF…
Yep you heard us, we’re bringing two absolute heros of the Australian Collegiate Shag world (and really, the world world) over for CSF to run a dedicated collegiate shag track and help us breathe some life back into our local shag scene and to make it reeaaaaallly reeeeaaallly hard for us to all pick which classes we are going to be attending during the festival weekend!
We’re delighted to be announcing our Nial and Vivian as our second set of teachers for CSF2026.
Nial started his swing dance journey 14 years ago, and within a few weeks of dancing he was introduced to Collegiate Shag. Ever since his love of the dance became an obsession. He’s taught around Australia, the US, UK, and France, as well as being an avid competitor, having picked up multiple awards on his journey. However his focus is always on the social dancing aspect of Shag and on introducing more people to this fantastic dance. This lead him to organise The Shag Geek Out, a one time weekend away where Shag dancers could develop their skills in a communal environment. He’s most excited when he gets to nerd out over Shag, and share the joy with new dancers.
Vivian’s first shag class was with Peter Flahiff in 2015. Once they experienced the joy of floating across the floor to some hot jazz they knew there was no going back. Since then Vivian has shared their shag knowledge with students in Aotearoa, Portugal, Singapore, Vietnam as well as at home in Australia and has hit the podium at comps as both a lead and follow. Vivian’s work as a violin teacher seeps into their social dancing and teaching. Their focus is on connecting with the music and exploring how that feels in the body, extending out into the feet.
Together Vivian and Nial have taught together in venues across Melbourne, placed 3rd in the Strictly Shag competition at Barcelona Shag Festival, and explored the wonderful world of shag and developed performances for the dance community as part of the shag troupe Double Rhythm Riot.
Check out this video of Nial and Vivian dancing together and start getting excited:
Noni Healy (she/her) and Jarrod Bates (he/him)
Just when we thought things couldn’t get more awesome, here we are telling you that we’ve managed to convince Noni and Jarrod to come back over the ditch to visit us. Last seen at CSF in 2015 we’ve been desperate to have these two teach for us again – a real treat for the die hard blues fans but lindy hoppers never fear as their awesomeness is only matched by their versatility on the dance floor. For those who don’t yet know them, we promise you are in for a treat – read on to see to learn more:
Noni grew up in a musical household surrounded by opera, show tunes, hymns and jazz. As a kid she loved tap dancing and performing in shows. In high school, Noni she studied jazz double bass which lead her to find swing dancing with her brother in 2000.
Noni started teaching at 18 with Swing Patrol and found a real passion for it (unsurprisingly with parents who are teachers). In 2004 she began teaching blues with an American-Canadian partner and toured extensively through out USA. She is pivotal for bringing & maintaining blues in Australia, including organising the Blues Before Sunrise festivals.
You can expect her teaching to break down the subtleties of technique while finding room to play and creative self expression. Noni currently performs with the Rhythm Revellers and Empress Stilt Dance company. You can also check out her tattoo career at lady.may.tattoo on instagram.
Jarrod is an experienced Lindy Hop, Charleston, Solo Jazz, and Blues / Slow swing instructor, having taught workshops in Australia and overseas. Jarrod has enjoyed teaching regular weekly classes in Melbourne for the past 15 years, along with being a current member of Australia’s premier swing dance group The Rhythm Revellers (formerly Echoes of Harlem).
Jarrod’s greatest passion and focus as an instructor is social dancing, rhythm and the influence of jazz music, appreciating and taking inspiration from the expression of that music across any level of dancer.
Bonus teachers! Alex Kjerulf (he/him) and Patricia Kjerulf (she/her)
Just happening to be in our neck of the woods at CSF time, Alex and Patricia are dance teachers joining us all the way from the Happy Feet studio in Copenhagen, Denmark, where their swing dancing journey has gone from hobby to passion to obsession. More than anything else, they believe that swing dancing should be fun and that it’s not about chasing perfection but about being silly and expressing yourself. Editor’s note: their performance troupe is called the “Chaos Camels” so they are clearly walking the (camel) walk!
So.. Friday before the main dance (at 7 pm) we will be having a bonus taster class called “Fun and playfulness in Lindy Hop” to really set the mood for a fantastic party! In this taster you won’t learn any new moves – you’ll learn how to have more fun with the moves you know. You will get tools to connect better with your dance partner, build more musicality and learn how to be more creative and playful in your dancing. This taster is for dancers at all levels who believe that swing dancing isn’t about being perfect, but about being silly and having fun.
Please note: the Friday night social venue is mint, but humongousness is not one of its key features so please bring a spirit of flexibility if you’re joining us as it might be somewhat cosy for a class setting if everyone comes, but this taster sounded too fun to pass up!